Promise?
by Pure Essence
Summary: This is the end.' She said and her smile dropped. 'I wish we had more time Ryoma.' Gently, she leaned over and grazed her lips on his. He closed his eyes for one second and when he opened them again, she was gone. RyoSaku


**Pure Essence:** Welcome to my second one-shot. The plot for this fanfic came to me during class (I believe boredom is the cause for inspiration) and have been stuck in my mind for weeks (and caused me to stumble a few times while rollerblading during gym…). I haven't had the time to write it down. But since it's winter recess right now, I can finally get it down. Anyway, enjoy…. Reviews would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Promise?**

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-

-

They were both sitting facing each other at an expensive restaurant when he threw her the unexpected question – or statement.

"Marry me."

Sakuno, who had been sipping her champagne quietly, choked. She quickly muffled her coughs with her hand. Ryoma frowned at her reaction and quickly took the champagne glass from her other hand before she spilled it all over herself.

"W-What?" she stuttered when she finally composed herself. Was she hearing things? During the four years that they have been together, she never even dared to dream of this moment because it seemed so impossible. But yet, here it was.

"You heard me." He said. "Marry me."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red silk box and opened it. Within was a silver ring with a large diamond at the center and smaller pink diamonds on each side imbedded within an elegant design.

Sakuno's eyes widened at the sight. In the box laid the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen in her entire life. The light above them only made it glitter even more.

When he took the ring out of the box, she looked up at him. He was gorgeous, with his golden eyes and dark unruly green hair. The smirk on his face enhanced his handsome features.

"Well?"

"U-Uh…"

By this time, the other people at the restaurant have all stopped whatever they were doing before and were watching them silently. That made Sakuno even more nervous.

She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and nodded.

"Yes." She finally said. The whole restaurant stood up and cheered causing Sakuno's face to turn even redder than it already was. Ryoma, who was unfazed by the commotion, took her left hand gently and slid the ring into her engagement finger.

Sakuno shivered in happiness as she watched him. Just as the ring slid fully in, she was suddenly yanked forward. The next thing she knew was that his lips were suddenly on hers.

For a second, her heart stopped and the world around them was suddenly tuned out. It was just the two of them – alone at the restaurant.

The kiss between them felt like it was forever although it was only about two minutes at best. When he pulled back, her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Though the proposal was not a bit romantic at all, the kiss sure made up for it.

"R-Ryoma…" she whispered.

He got out of his seat and walked over to her side throwing a large bill on the table along the way.

Leaning over, he whispered into her ear.

"Let's get out of here."

His warm breath swept over her neck and she tried hard not to make any sound. She nodded mutely and followed him out.

-

-

Ryoma stood outside his fiancé's house a few days after their engagement. Today, they were going on another date. To be honest, he was actually looking forward to this date because it was their first date as an engaged couple.

Thinking back, he never imagined a day like this would come. When he attended Seigaku Junior High, he never even noticed the female population around him no matter how much they followed him around – except Sakuno because she wasn't as annoying as the others. Although he acknowledged her presence, he never really spoke to her.

But as they moved on to high school, much of his fan girls stopped stalking him probably because they discovered that no matter how much they tried to get his attention, he will never look their way. Sakuno, however, stayed faithful. She still attended his every match, ran to him when he got hurt without thinking of the consequences and well, continued being the typical clumsy her.

They became much closer friends toward the end of high school. But it was not until they were at the end of college that they started dating. If he remembered clearly, she was the one to confess – not him.

On that one warm summer day and with a flushed face, clenched fist, fidgety body and a stuttering voice, she daringly asked him out. For a few minutes he just stared at her not really surprised at her confession. He remembered how she looked like she was going to cry as if expecting his rejection.

He surprised himself that day by actually agreeing to go out with her. That was so… un-Ryoma like. The face that she had on after he agreed was priceless. It earned her a "mada mada dane" from him.

But nevertheless, she grew on him over the four years they were together and deep down, he really did love her. Even though he never told her those three words directly, there was some sort of mutual understanding between them that allowed for the words to remain unspoken but understood.

Both of them have finished college already. Sakuno studied to become a journalist and was now a sports writer. As for Ryoma himself, he didn't even need to go to college. Right after high school, he was already offered a few million yen contracts to play professional tennis.

He accepted them of course but still found time to go to college to be with Sakuno and to make sure she was not bullied. After all, being a famous tennis star's girlfriend is not easy feat and for a few times, she was even followed by the paparazzi. Now that they were engaged, he was sure there will be more trouble following them around…

"Ryoma?" her voice suddenly pulled him back to the present. She was waving a hand in front of him trying to get his attention.

"Hm?"

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." he said.

He observed his fiancée up and down. She was beautiful. She had on a light pink V-neck shirt with elegant lace trimming the edge of it with a knee length skirt to match. Since it was mid-December, she also had on a warm coat with a furry white scarf equipped.

Sakuno followed his eyes and blushed when she realized that he was observing her.

"A-Ano… lets get going shall we?" She grabbed his hand and led him away from her house.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, not really minding the fact that their hands were together. He had long gotten used to this sort of physical contact.

"Eto…Tomo-chan told me that there was this new amusement park that just opened around here and she said that it was really popular and…."

As she chattered on excitedly, Ryoma was not even listening anymore. He was simply watching Sakuno's face light up happily like some child who was given a toy. When he finally noticed that she was done talking and was waiting for him to say something, he merely muttered a "Hn…" to show that he was okay with it.

The both of them walked toward the train station hand in hand. She was the one pulling him along though.

By the time they got off the train and was heading toward the amusement park, he could already see the large Ferris wheel that stood out at the center of the park – as well as a crowd of people all waiting to buy a ticket.

He sighed. He could already guess that there will be more waiting time than playing time. Sakuno didn't seem to mind though. She still had on that cheerful smile as she waited on line next to him for the tickets. Fifteen minutes had passed and there were still at least 20 people in front of them.

"Let's just come back next time." he turned to her.

"Iie!" she huffed stubbornly. "We came all the way here and I don't want to go back until I have went on some of the rides with _Ryoma-kun_!"

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at the "-kun" she added at the end of his name. It has been a while since she called him that. The only time she reverted back to the familiarity was when she was upset with him and each time that it happened, he always gave in to her. This time was no different.

"Fine." He shrugged. "We'll wait another twenty minutes."

Sakuno beamed at him and squeezed his hands gently as a way of saying "thanks".

Twenty minutes have passed but Ryoma didn't mention it to Sakuno. Even though he told her twenty minutes, he knew she would be very upset if they leave now. Thankfully, there were only about five more people ahead of them. After another 10 minutes of waiting, it was finally their turn. They quickly bought the tickets and began waiting on line for the rides.

'At least the lines on the rides were not as long as the line for the tickets.' Ryoma thought.

They managed to get on five rides – three roller coasters and two spinning rides that left Ryoma dizzy and nauseated. Sakuno however, was fine and was ready to go on more. He was surprised at the stamina she had for such things.

Once they got off their last ride, she tugged him to the center of the park to the Ferris wheel.

"I want to go on that." She pointed to the large rotating wheel. '_With you'_

Ryoma frowned at the huge line which could rival that of the ticket line and glanced at his watch.

"It's late" he said. "Your grandmother will be worried."

"Mou…" she stared at the Ferris wheel longingly.

"We'll come again." He said and tugged her off the line. "The next time we come here, we can ride it as much as you want."

Sakuno was persuaded.

"Promise?" she looked at him eagerly.

He sighed and nodded. "Promise."

-

-

"Ne, Ryoma." Sakuno said as she leaned her head on Ryoma's shoulder.

They were both sitting on the porch of his house.

"Hn?"

"Your birthday is coming up right?" she closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of his body next to her. "What do you want for a birthday present?"

'You' he thought but did not phrase his thoughts out loud. To spend his birthday with her was enough. He was rich enough to buy any other tangible things himself.

"I don't want anything." He simply told her.

She sighed lightly on his shoulder but didn't say much after that. She already knew he was going to say what he said.

They both enjoyed the silence that followed before Sakuno broke the silence.

"I need to go away for a few days for work" she said suddenly.

Without even looking up, she could feel his head turn in her direction.

"I have to go visit the recently opened tennis stadium in the United States. They said it was the largest tennis stadium as of yet. The company told me to write a report on it for this year's issue of our sports magazine."

He nodded understandingly. It was not the first time she's traveled for her job.

"For how long?" he asked.

"I will probably be back on the evening of Christmas day." She sounded a little down and Ryoma knew it was because she was looking forward to spending the Christmas with him.

"But don't worry." She teased. "I'll still send you something for your birthday."

He scoffed and Sakuno laughed.

"Ryoma." She began again. "When I come back and before Christmas is over, can we go back to the amusement park and ride on the Ferris wheel together?"

He stared ahead of him and remained thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"Betsuni." he said which basically translates to "If that's what you want."

Sakuno snuggled her head closer to his neck.

"Arigato." She whispered.

-

-

Ryoma stood inside the airport staring out the large window and at the sky. The plane that Sakuno was on had just taken off. He continued to watch the plane in the sky until it was too far away to be seen. When it finally disappeared fully from his sight, he turned around and walked out of the airport.

As he walked toward the exit, he replayed what she had told him before she left.

"_Ryoma lets meet at the amusement park in front of the Ferris wheel. I'll go directly there so you don't have to pick me up at the airport."_

Ryoma pulled out his cell phone and dialed his manager's number.

"Moshi moshi?" his manager on the other line picked up.

"Tanaka, it's me." Ryoma said into his cell phone. "I want you to call up the owner of the newly opened amusement park and tell him that I want to reserve the whole park on Christmas day."

His manager seemed to complain something about all the money the amusement park will lose from closing business on Christmas day.

Ryoma sighed impatiently. "Tell them that I will compensate them for all the money they lost that day." Before his manager could say anything more, Ryoma hung up.

Well, atleast now, they didn't have to wait on line anymore because they will have the whole park to themselves.

'Perfect.' Ryoma smirked.

-

-

Sakuno got off the plane and yawned. What a tiring ride she had. The person sitting next to her was a loud sleeper and was snoring endlessly causing her to not get much sleep herself.

Dragging her small suitcase behind her, she headed outside the airport and waved to a taxi. She told the taxi driver to take her to the nearest hotel to the stadium in fluent English. After all, being a sports writer required her to know English at the least. Plus, Ryoma had helped to refine her English skills during the four years they were together.

The taxi ride was not a long one. When they got to the hotel, she paid the fee in dollars. She had made sure to convert her Japanese currency into American currency before coming here.

Stepping out of the car, she made her way to the hotel with her luggage. It was an elegant hotel she observed. The inside was beautiful with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and elegantly designed wallpaper adorning the walls. The carpet was colored a royal red. Signing herself into a single room, she made her way upstairs.

Sakuno slid her card into the door slot and when the light turned green, she turned the handle and the door to her hotel room opened. The inside was small but comfortable for a single person. Dropping her luggage on the floor, she looked at the time on the digital clock by her beside. It read 10:45 in the morning. She still had plenty of time. She didn't have to go to the stadium until tomorrow.

She sat on the bed contemplating what she should do. She could sleep she supposed. But she was never the type that took naps. Sighing, she picked up her wallet and the key of her hotel room and headed for the door. She might as well use this time to buy Ryoma his gift and ship it off early so it might make it to his birthday.

She opened the door and closed it gently behind her before making her way out of the hotel.

-

-

Sakuno toured the streets and different shops hoping to find the perfect gift for her tennis prince. She went from picking out watches to jewelry to sports equipment but did not buy any of it.

'Mou…so hard to decide' she thought. Walking toward more stores and doing some more window shopping, she paused when she found something she thought was perhaps the perfect gift.

Inside the window was a silver picture frame with a wider silver area under where the photo was supposing displayed. Next to the picture frame was a small tag that said: We engrave.

Sakuno smiled. "I think Ryoma will like this…" she muttered under her breath.

She made her way into the store and somebody immediately came up to her asking if she needed help.

"Um…" she began. "I would like that picture frame with the silver border at the window display"

The lady told her to wait as she retrieved it. When she came back, she handed Sakuno the picture frame for her to observe.

It was a really beautiful picture frame Sakuno noted mentally. She decided that she was going to buy it.

"Can I write down what I want to be engraved on this picture frame?" she asked the lady and the lady nodded. She handed Sakuno a small slip of paper and a pen.

Smiling happily, she wrote down the words she wanted to be engraved on it. Handing the slip back to the lady, she asked, "When can I pick it up?"

"If you want, I can get it engraved now."

Sakuno smiled sweetly at the lady. "Thanks. I'll wait for it."

When the lady disappeared into the back room, she sat down at the counter and waited.

Ten minutes later, the lady came back out and handed her the newly engraved picture frame. Sakuno examined it. It was perfect and just the way she wanted it to be.

"Thank you very much!" she told the lady and paid for it.

"Excuse my nosiness" the lady said with a grin after she wrapped the frame. "But is this gift for your boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend" Sakuno said and the lady muttered a bunch of apologies.

Sakuno laughed at her misinterpretation.

"Actually…" she said with the most radiant smile she could give to the lady. "He's my fiancé now."

-

-

By the time Sakuno returned to her hotel room, the sun was almost setting. Luckily for her, she managed to send the package out before the post office closed. She just hoped that the package will get there exactly on his birthday.

Making her way to her suitcase, she took out her pink pajamas and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She was going to need a good nights rest before tomorrow's visit to the tennis stadium.

When she got out of the showers, she felt so much more relaxed and refreshed. Dropping onto her bed tiredly, she pulled the covers over her body and fell asleep, dreaming of the promised Christmas day.

The next morning, Sakuno awoke an hour earlier to prepare. She dressed in her work attire. Combing her hair neatly, she twisted it into a bun so that it will not bother her while she was working. She gathered a bag to put her notepad, camera and pens in as well as a tape recorder. Then, she quickly got out of the hotel and caught a taxi to the stadium.

The front of the tennis stadium was crowded with reporters, photographers and journalists.

Sakuno looked around her surroundings and was surprised at the size of the stadium. It was atleast twice the size of the stadiums in Japan and could probably hold more than a million people.

"Sugoi…" she whispered in wonderment before being ushered into the stadium. She and the other reporters were given a first hand tour of the stadium from the bottom to the top. The whole time, she could not stop snapping pictures of it.

When the tour guide led the reports up the long, long steps to the top of the stadium, Sakuno suddenly felt weak to the knees. It was really high….

She stood cautiously by the steps with one hand on the camera and one hand holding the rail. Above the clicks of the camera and noise from the reporter and the tour guide, she barely made out the words of the person talking.

"…and now, we present you the sponsors of this stadium…" She merely caught the last bits of what they were saying.

Suddenly, the reporters and the photographers started pushing as they tried to snap pictures of probably the famous sponsors. Sakuno who had the camera in her hand nearly dropped it. Letting go of the hand that was on the handrail to catch her camera before it slipped out of her hands, she was suddenly pushed backwards by the crowd.

She gasped when she felt her foot slip from the steps and her back falling backwards.

"AH!" she yelled and desperately tried to find something, _anything_ to grab on – but she only managed to grab thin air. The next thing she knew was that she was tumbling down the steps from the top of the stadium to the bottom leaving a trail of blood down the stairs.

Her body lay broken and bloody at the bottom of the stadium as the blood from the back of her head leaked out into a pool around her head. Her hair which had become undone from the fall soaked up some of the blood. She was barely conscious now. She could hear the desperate cries for help and blurry images of people running down to help her.

But eventually, the black dots ate away her vision and she only saw darkness.

-

-

As the ambulance drove to the entrance of the hospital at high speed, doctors and nurses were already outside waiting to help.

"What's the report?" a doctor asked quickly as they wheeled her into the hospital.

"Severe head trauma, bodily injuries, and major blood loss" the ambulatory services reported while working fast.

As they pushed the bed down the hallway, the nurses yelled, "Move out of the way!" and people scrambled out of their path.

They pushed the bed into the emergency room and proceeded to examine her injuries. One of the doctors tapped her gently on the cheek to see if she could gain some sort of consciousness. Sakuno opened her eyes weakly. The light above her was blinding. She could hear the frantic commands of the doctors and nurses as they tried to get the equipments necessary to save her.

Sakuno's eyes teared as she tried hard to breathe under the oxygen mask. When she tried to speak, one of the nurses removed her mask to let her speak.

As tears fell from her eyes, Sakuno muttered into the ear of the nurse.

"I-I don't want to die y-yet." She cried. "S-someone is waiting for me t-to r-return…"

The nurse quickly comforted her. "Shh…" the nurse hushed her. "You'll be okay…"

But, Sakuno knew she was not going to be okay and even as the nurse returned the oxygen mask to her, she found it harder to breathe with each passing second.

Little by little, the world around her turned quieter, she could hear the beeps from the machine tracking her heartbeat falter.

Her vision suddenly turned black and she could no longer even feel the trail of tears that leaked from her eyes.

The machine that tracked her heartbeat suddenly gave a prolonged 'beep' as the once crooked line, turned flat.

-

-

Today was December 24th – his birthday.

Ryoma sat by the porch where he and Sakuno sat before she left and watched the thick grey clouds cover the sun.

Yesterday, he got a call from his manager saying that the amusement park was reserved and was ready for his use on Christmas day. At that moment, he thought of how happy Sakuno would be when she found out that she could ride on anything she want without waiting in line.

He grinned lightly and sighed. It has been a lonely few days without her. He didn't go anywhere except to the tennis courts to play tennis with some of his old colleagues and senpais.

For the time she was gone, Ryoma wondered why he never received any phone calls from her…

He groaned and sighed inwardly. He was sounding like some love sick puppy.

**DING DONG!**

His doorbell startled him as he stood up and made his way to the door.

Opening his door, he saw a delivery man holding a package that was marked fragile.

"Are you Echizen Ryoma?" he asked.

"Hai." He answered and the delivery man handed him the package.

Ryoma looked at the label to see who sent it and when he saw Sakuno's name, a tiny smile broke out.

"Would you please sign this for me?" the man handed Ryoma a digital pad and he quickly scribbled his name down. The delivery man took the signing pad from him and left.

Ryoma closed the door behind him and made his way to where he sat before. Gently, he laid the fragile package next to him. He opened the package with a box cutter and pulled out her gift.

The silver picture frame in his hands reflected light brightly despite the cloudy sky.

Ryoma smirked when he saw the engravings at the bottom of the frame.

It read in elegant script:

Sakuno (heart) Ryoma

Happy Birthday!

Their names were in a larger font and it stood out over the "Happy Birthday" in smaller font, under it.

He gently brushed his fingers over her name.

His fingers paused when a thought suddenly struck him and he stood up quickly and made his way to his room with the picture frame in his hand. Pulling out a drawer, he took out his photo album. Inside were many pictures of him and Sakuno together. He picked out the one he liked the most and put it into the frame.

As he observed the whole picture frame with their picture in it, he couldn't help but agree that there were some things that even money can't buy. Sure, the picture frame was nothing special but the words that were engraved on it were thought out. He could feel her love for him shine through simply by the words she put on it.

He placed the frame by his bedside table and let out a deep breath. He was missing her more than he could ever say.

'Well' he thought to himself. 'I only have to wait one more day before I see her again…'

-

-

On their promised evening, Ryoma arrived at the amusement park. The whole park was lighted up with lights and it made the whole place glow beautifully. Christmas music played as he made his way to the center of the park where the Ferris wheel was.

At each ride was assigned an attendant to activate the rides. When he reached the Ferris wheel, the attendant guided him into one of the cart where he waited for her.

Suddenly however, the doors to the Ferris wheel cart closed and the wheel began to slowly move.

Ryoma frowned. He didn't remember ever telling the attendant to activate the ride. He glanced out the window and the attendant looked just as surprised as he was. He mouthed "I didn't do anything" to him with both his hands lifted up.

Closing his eyes letting out a frustrated groan, Ryoma massaged his temples. Seriously, he _did not_ pay these people to not follow directions.

_Ryoma…_

Ryoma stopped massaging his temple and opened his eyes. He swore he heard her voice. Looking up, he saw her. She was sitting across from him with an angelic smile on her face.

"Sakuno?" he muttered a little startled at her sudden appearance. "Since when did you –"

_Just a few seconds ago._ She answered.

Ryoma wanted to question her more but stopped when he saw tears flowing out of her eyes and dripping onto her clenched fists.

Before he could say anything more, she spoke first.

_Ryoma, thank you for keeping your promise._ She said it with a smile despite the sad eyes that betrayed it. _I'm really happy._

Ryoma continued to watch the tears drip from her eyes.

"Sakuno, why are you crying?" He reached out to wipe away the tears but she dodged his touch.

_Sorry. _She whispered, _but I don't have much time left…_

Ryoma stared at her weirdly. "What are you talking about?"

She was starting to worry him. He _did not_ like what he was hearing at all. What did she mean when she said she didn't have much time left? They were going to get married right?

_This is the end._ She said and her smile dropped. The only expression on her face was bitterness and regret.

_I wish we had more time Ryoma._ Gently, she leaned over and grazed her lips on his. He closed his eyes for one second and when he opened them again, she was gone.

_**Plink!**_

Something suddenly dropped from his lap and he bent down to pick it up. Staring at the silver object, he realized that it was her engagement ring.

Realization hit full force.

…and for the first time in a long time, he cried.

-

-

**The End**

-

-

**A/N**: Merry Christmas everyone… I know this is a depressing story (I was crying myself when I was writing this) but it does contain a message.

This Christmas, the greatest gift of all is to spend time with those precious to you. Because life is only so long so treasure it while you can.

Please review. This is my first time writing a Romance/Tragedy/Supernatural fic. I would like to hear what you guys thought of it. Once again, I wish every one of you a merry Christmas.


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